David Cofrin, the owner and son of the founder of the Fort Howard Corporation, donated $1.5 million to St. Norbert College in the company and his name in April 1988. This money was used for construction of a new academic building, which is named after his father, Austin E. Cofrin Hall. Later the same year, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee donated another $400,000 to help construction of the new academic building.
The Cofrin Hall was designed by the CPR architectural firm. The groundbreaking for the building was on May 21, 1991, it took around 15 months for the construction, and was dedicated on September 11, 1992. The entire construction of Cofrin Hall cost around $6 million. It is located among the Pennings Activity Center, Dr. John R. Minahan Science Hall, the Todd Wehr Library (called the Todd Hall now), and the F.K. Bemis International Center ( was not there until 1996).
The new academic building, Austin E. Cofrin Hall, has three stories and a finished basement. It contains 10 classrooms and 30 faculty offices with 41,000 total square foot. The computer science, mathematics, business, economics, and accounting departments take place in the new building, as well as most computer labs and internet servers.
Work Cited
Pieters, Donald L. St. Norbert College Buildings. Centennial Edition ed. De Pere, WI: St. Norbert College, 1998. Print.
Credits
Pieters, Donald L. St. Norbert College Buildings. Centennial Edition ed. De Pere, WI: St. Norbert College, 1998. Print.